Commuters Wednesday in one of the wooden La Brugeoise subway cars still running on Line A in Buenos Aires, Argentina. / Natacha Pisarenko, AP

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Father Time has caught up with Buenos Aires' nostalgic wooden subway cars, the oldest in the world. They'll be retired by spring, months shy of the 100th anniversary of when they began rolling on South America's first subway line.

Starting next week, the Argentinian capital's Line A will close for an estimated two months for renovations, including replacing the Belgian-made carriages with shiny modern cars made in China, according to news reports. The line opened Dec. 1, 1913.

Macri said Wednesday that the current fare - 50 U.S. cents - would more than double if it isn't subsidized, the Buenos Aires Herald reported. One lawmaker challenged the mayor, saying he alone can't hike the fare. She called the Line A modernization "unnecessary barbarity."